Syncollin is a small protein that is abundantly expressed in pancreatic acinar cells and that is tightly associated with the lumenal side of the zymogen granule membrane. To shed light on the hitherto unknown function of syncollin, we have generated syncollin-deficient mice. The mice are viable and show a normal pancreatic morphology as well as normal release kinetics in response to secretagogue stimulation. Although syncollin is highly enriched in zymogen granules, no change was found in the overall protein content and in the levels of chymotrypsin, trypsin, and amylase. However, syncollin-deficient mice reacted to caerulein hyperstimulation with a more severe pancreatitis. Furthermore, the rates of both protein synthesis and intracellular transport of secretory proteins were reduced. We conclude that syncollin plays a role in maturation and/or concentration of zymogens in zymogen granules.The exocrine pancreas is specialized for the synthesis, storage, and release of digestive proenzymes. Since the pancreas exhibits the highest rate of protein synthesis among all mammalian tissues (8), it has served for many years as the model system for the study of intracellular protein transport and secretion (31). In pancreatic acinar cells, secretory proteins are synthesized at the rough endoplasmic reticulum and transported to the Golgi apparatus. In the trans-Golgi network, proteins are segregated into condensing vacuoles that undergo further maturation to zymogen granules (for a review, see reference 37). During maturation and condensation, granular content proteins are segregated from proteins destined for constitutive secretion (for a review, see references 3 and 43). Mature granules are stored in the apical pole of the acinar cell. Upon nervous or hormonal stimulation, a selective rise in the local Ca 2ϩ concentration is observed in the apical pole, which triggers exocytotic discharge of the granule content into the pancreatic duct (32).Formation, maturation, and exocytosis of zymogen granules are multistep processes that are only incompletely understood at the molecular level. For instance, it is largely unknown how zymogens are sorted in the trans-Golgi network and how they are packaged and concentrated in zymogen granules. Furthermore, the molecular steps involved in granule docking and fusion still need to be elucidated. As in many other intracellular fusion events, members of the Rab and SNARE (for soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) protein families were shown to be involved in pancreatic secretion (16,18,29,30,44), but how they are regulated and which proteins are involved in transmitting the calcium signal to the exocytotic machinery are still unknown.